Everything Else Can Wait
by Cem214
Summary: Two familiar faces return to County. A surprise awaits one of them. AU Luby


A/N This is my first ER fanfic so any thoughts or views would be greatly appreciated (good or bad) so please read and review. This is currently a one shot but I may write a sequel depending on reviews. Let me know if you think I should or not :)

Disclaimer: Don't own them.

Summery: S12 spoilers but is AU. Two familiar faces return to County. A surprise awaits them. Luby

**Everything Else Can Wait**

8 months. It had been 8 months since he'd stepped through the doors before him and in to that chaos.

It had been longer for the man at his side but at least he had left for a woman he loved instead of leaving the woman he loved behind.

He looked around anxiously. He had missed her so much and felt so incredibly guilty about not returning sooner, when he was supposed too. But he was needed there; he couldn't just leave his patients. As much as he loved her, their lives were more important.

All he wanted was to do was to walk in there and sweep her off her feet, kiss her till she was breathless and he'd quite happily marry her there and then, promising never to leave her side again. But every time he had he had called her, every time he had extended his stay there, she sounded more and more disappointed and angry.

He doubted she would understand his reasons for being gone for 8 months instead of the 1 month he was supposed to have been.

He knew it would take a lot of explaining and time for her to forgive him and let him back in to her life. But he was going to try. He was willing to do whatever took. He'd lost her once and wasn't willing to lose her again.

"Luka! Carter! Oh my god I can't believe your back!" Chuny cried seeing the two men walk through the sliding triage doors.

"Hey there strangers!" Haleh exclaimed "My its good to see you boys again" Both nurses hurried over to them and hugged them both and they were quickly followed by several other nurses and doctors as well as Jerry and Frank.

Carter and Luka were both smiling as they said hello to everyone, but Luka was looking around for a certain petite brunette, but he didn't see her.

"Damn you do have timing don't you Kovac. Although I don't think your girl is gonna want to see you right now. Or if you do see her I think she might rip your head off so be careful." Morris said after saying hello to both men.

Everyone else who was present glared at Morris for saying what he did and willing him to shut up. Luka and Carter just looked at him in confusion.

"What the hell are you on about Morris?" Luka asked.

"Abby. She's having the baby." He blurted out before anyone could stop him.

"Idiot!" Pratt scoffed as he smacked Morris around the back of the head.

"What?" Luka asked in shock whilst the others watched him to see his reaction. But they were unwilling to be the one to explain the situation to him in case he got mad and took it out on them.

"A few days after you left, Abby fainted, here at work, and it turned out it was 'cause she was pregnant." Pratt started deciding to bite the bullet. "She was about five weeks at the time. She's now 38 weeks and she went in to labor about 7 hours ago. She's up in OB with Coburn and doing well last we checked."

Luka stared at Pratt in complete shock, not sure if he should really believe what he was hearing. But there was also a look of hope in his eyes. He wanted it to be true; he wanted to have a baby with her.

"Don't be mad at her for not telling you" Haleh started gently "She has her reasons. I don't know if she'll want you with her at the moment but you should try. If she tells you to get out then do. Don't argue with her or try and talk about it right now. Just be there with her and support her through the labor." She ordered.

"Go on" She added giving him a gentle push to pull him out of the shocked state he was in.

"Hey Luka you're gonna be a father again. You might wanna get up there" Chuny added with a smile "And tell her good luck from all of us. Again!" she laughed.

Luka was in a daze. He barely heard anything anyone said since Pratt had said Abby was having his baby. Today.

_Shit! _He thought his mind suddenly waking up. _I'm going to be a father again. Abby's having my baby. I need to be there. I have to be there for them._ "Wish me luck too. I have a feeling I'm gonna need it after being away this long." He said as a huge smile spread across his face lighting it up.

"Good luck" Everyone echoed, including Carter, smiling as Luka hurried towards the elevators.

"He's not wrong. He's gonna need more than luck!" Pratt laughed. "That girl is really not happy with him"

"Yeah but she's also in love with him, and he loves her, so they'll get there. Eventually." Chuny added laughing as well.

"Well if he needs any back up, I can vouch for him. He has missed her like crazy, he loves her. He really hasn't been good company the last 8 months. He's been desperate to get back to her." Carter said happy for his friends. He knew how hard it was to lose a child but to lose his whole family in one go must be so much harder.

He didn't know how Luka had survived and moved on, but he had. He had found love again and deserved to be happy with her. And he knew Abby had had more than her fair share of problems and also really deserved to be happy. He was truly happy that his two best friends had found that with each other. Now he just hoped Abby would let him back in again.

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Luka could barely stand still. He was cursing the elevator for being so slow under his breath. He just wanted to be with her. But he was also terrified she wouldn't want him there, that she wouldn't want him back. He would do whatever it took to convince her he loved her and wanted to be with her.

And he would also do as Haleh ordered and not ask her about why she hadn't told him about the baby even though they had talked, on average, twice a month but more often if he could. He suspected she hadn't said anything at first because he was supposed to come home sooner and she would have told him when he got back.

He had been so happy to be back with her. He couldn't keep the smile off his face at anytime and when he was with her he couldn't keep his hands off her. The first time they were together it was very serious and closed off. Neither wanted to open themselves up to the other but there was something there between them but they weren't ready for it. This time they wanted it and were ready for it. And they knew what it was between them, love.

Finally the elevator arrived at the right floor and Luka hurried off towards the reception desk, smile still firmly in place. _I'm going to be a father again. Abby and I are having a baby. _The words kept going around his head and filled him with excitement.

Before he got to the desk he spotted Dr. Janet Coburn down the hall and headed straight for her.

"Dr Coburn. Where's Abby? How's she doing?" He asked hurriedly.

"She's doing fine. Did you just get back?" She asked.

"Yeah. Where is she?" Luka asked again.

Janet looked at him for a moment taking in the eagerness and anxiety on his features. "Abby doesn't know you're here." She stated. "You are not to upset her in any way. You are just to be there for her through the labor. Do not talk about the fact that you didn't know about the baby or why you're back. If she asks you to leave you do. Instantly." She ordered sternly.

"Anything" Luka instantly agreed nodding for emphasis.

"Okay. Come on." She led him down the hall a small way before stopping by a door on her right. "Go ahead" She said standing to the side of the door. "I'll give you two a couple of minuets but then I need to come in and check her again."

Luka smiled and nodded at her. He took a deep breath before turning the handle, pushing the door open and stepping quietly inside.

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Abby was staring at the window from the bed. She was thinking about Luka. She heard the door open and slowly turned around. When she saw who it was she gasped and blinked a few times thinking her eyes were deceiving her. "Luka" She breathed.

"Hey." He smiled that brilliant smile of his that always made her weak at the knees.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But you were supposed to come home and I was going to tell you then but you didn't come back. I didn't want you to leave if you needed to be there. I didn't want you to feel obligated to be here. I'm sorry" Tears were running down her face when she finished. Damn hormones.

"Shh…shh…It's okay Abby. I'm not mad at you" Luka said going to her and wrapping his arms around her pulling her close to him, he leaned his head on hers.

"Sorry I don't mean to cry all over you. Hormones" She said but didn't pull away from him.

"It's okay, Abby. It's okay, Sweetheart." He rubbed her back.

Abby gasped and grabbed Luka's hand as another contraction hit her. "Breath, breath" Luka reminded her gently continuing to rub her back.

"How we doing?" Janet asked as she entered the room.

"These contractions are hell. How much longer?" Abby asked as the contraction ended.

"You're at 8 centimetres. You're progressing quite quickly but it could still be a little while yet. I'll be back to check you again soon." Janet smiled at her before leaving the room.

Luka looked at Abby again and smiled softly. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I am sorry Abby. Sorry I was gone for so long and that I wasn't here for you when you needed me." He said apologetically.

"I've missed you Luka. I want to be with you, I do. But I'm not sure I can trust you to stay. I can't have you coming and going every few months Luka. And I can't just get back with you now because I'm a mess and I'm tired and in pain. Once things have settled down, once my hormones are under control, we can talk and see where we stand. Until then can you just be with me? I can't and don't want to do this alone." Abby said quietly looking at her abdomen, hands linked over the baby.

"Of course. When you're ready." He smiled that smile at her again and she smiled at him until the next contraction hit.

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Several hours later Abby was holding their beautiful baby girl. Luka was sat on the edge of the bed arms around both of them, watching them both, love and affection shining in his eyes.

"Abby" He started quietly "I know you don't want to talk about this yet but I need to say this now. I love you. I've been going crazy with out you. I'm willing to do what ever it takes and wait as long as I have to; to show you I love you and want to be with you.

"I want you to know I'm not going anywhere. Even before I found out about her I wasn't planning on going back, not for a couple of years at the very least.

"I want to be with you and I don't want to screw this up. I can't lose you again. Thank you for giving me a beautiful baby girl and another chance to be a father, Abby. I would very much like to have a family with you.

"I'm not expecting you to say anything now. You're right in saying you should wait until your hormones have settled. I love you. I need you to hear that now. We have some things to work out and I'm not denying that or trying to ignore it. When you're ready we can talk about it and work out what we want."

Abby was looking in to his eyes with tears I her own. She smiled seeing the love held there, knowing that he meant every word he was saying. She knew what she wanted but she still wanted to wait until her hormones were calmer before doing anything, she didn't want to screw it up either. She had been worried he wouldn't wait for her. But with his final words, her fears melted away and the love she felt for him doubled in her heart.

"For now just know that I love you and will always be here for you. Everything else can wait"


End file.
